Jason Lambert was content being choosy.
His ties to the city of Maryville were deep, and becoming a high school head baseball coach for the first time was secondary to finding a precise fit for his family.
"I've actively looked around," Lambert told the News Sentinel on Wednesday, "but I'm not a guy who was just going to chase a head coaching job just because I wanted to be one. Nothing really spoke to me."
Until Tuesday, when the Maryville High School assistant was hired as Loudon's baseball coach.
Lambert replaces Aaron Everett, who Loudon athletic director Ronnie Roberts said was hired as an assistant at Tennessee Wesleyan College. Everett, a Loudon graduate, coached three seasons, leading the Redskins to the Class AA state tournament in 2015.
Attempts to reach Everett were unsuccessful.
"From the time I've been a high school baseball player through college, I've kept up with the high school baseball scene throughout East Tennessee," said Lambert, who applied for the job last Friday and interviewed on Monday. "Loudon has always had a very rich tradition of baseball excellence. I'm looking forward to being part of that and a community who loves their baseball boys and just their kids in general. I feel like this place always has been a hot bed for great baseball talent."
Lambert's departure ends his seven-season run as an assistant at Maryville, where he played baseball and graduated from in 2004. Lambert then attended Maryville College, where his father Randy Lambert has been the Scots' men's basketball coach since 1980.
"He's not your typical guy who's taking his first job," said Maryville coach Adam Sullivan, who just completed his first season. "He's going in it with an advantage over other guys who haven't been a head coach before. He's got the pedigree and is very, very grounded. His finger always is on the pulse, and he understands the game."